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February 20, 2012

Home Buyers Heart Noe Valley

Feeding the Facebook millionaire frenzy, SFGate follows this story in the NY Times about the California real estate market bracing for higher home prices with a story titled "Yes, Yes, Noe Valley." And yes, yes, it's a love letter to Noe. The article is full of observations like: "In a still-moribund real estate market, Noe Valley stands out as a neighborhood buoyed by positive fiscal forces," citing "its fortuitous location for Peninsula, South Bay and downtown commutes" as well as the fact that the "private bus routes sponsored by tech firms are a draw." Lots of local name-dropping, and stories of multi-million-dollar homes going for over asking with a zillion all-cash offers. Some of the photo examples (like 725 Elizabeth, above) are from properties that sold (or didn't) in 2010 and earlier - but whatever. You get the idea. Noe Valley real estate is red hot.

Snark aside, the money quote came from Carol Yenne, 36-year Noe resident and owner of the children's store Small Frys: "When we bought our (Noe Valley) house in 1975, it cost nothing compared to nowadays. But my mother back in Montana cried because we could have bought 10 acres and a ranch house there for the same price, and here we got a 25-foot-by-100-foot lot with an old, crummy house."

The Wall street Journal article is misleading. It says, "The house had a great view, but it was only 1,800 square feet and came with an old kitchen which, like most of the interior, was covered in 1970s plywood paneling." That isn't plywood paneling -- it's redwood, almost impossible to buy anymore.

The house was designed by Albert Lanier (Ruth Asawa's husband), a well-regarded architect. If you don't know who Albert Lanier and Ruth Asawa are, well, then you're too new to the neighborhood.